The Economics of Feasible Socialism Revisited [Paperback]

Alec Nove (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0044460155 | ISBN-13: 978-0044460152 | Publication Date: March 13, 1992 | Edition: 2

Characteristically readable, controversial and full of insights, Alec Nove's new book is essential reading for anyone concerned with evaluating the relevance of Marxism to contemporary social and economic problems.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Alec Nove is Professor Emeritus of the University of Glasgow.

Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Routledge; 2 edition (March 13, 1992)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0044460155
• ISBN-13: 978-0044460152
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.9 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,180,668 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Not Another Hayek Hack, May 17, 2007

By 

mark (Texas) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Economics of Feasible Socialism Revisited (Paperback)

People should read books not throw mud. The very title of the other review suggests a "disciple" of FA Hayek and the Liberty Fund of neo-cons. Nove's book offers the serious student of political economy insight into ways in which the ideals of socialism can work with mixed state and market initiatives, without collapsing under the ideological weight of the overwhelming economics as ideology of the age of neo-liberalism. Intelligent readers should give Nove a read and situate his thinking in juxtaposition with the works of Amartya Sen for provocative ideas about where, say the French left, might turn for some new initiatives.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A good reference point for discussion on socialist economics, November 21, 2008

By 

Shayn Mccallum (Istanbul, Turkey) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Economics of Feasible Socialism Revisited (Paperback)

This book shows its age in many ways. As its author, the late Alec Nove, freely admits, the work was intended to advance an argument for the consideration of an audience interested in socialism. As a "modest contribution" to discussions of socialist economics, particularly among those of us still engaged in the socialist project, it provides a thought-provoking, helpful reference point.
In many respects the product of a tired realism, written at the end of a disappointing century, the book provides a sober and relatively realistic assessment of the failures and shortcomings of various attempts to build socialism and a cautious, rather modest and decidedly non-utopian proposal for its renewal.
The steadfast lack of utopianism in the work gives it a dry flavour that some might find uninspiring but, in fact, although the proposals Nove makes do not translate to socialism as it's often, conventionally understood, they may certainly provide the elements of a good transition program.
Works like Michael Albert's "Parecon" may provide a more radical and inspiring program for a future society than Nove's "feasible socialism" but the sheer power of the vision is, in itself, daunting (especially in the current era). We may come to turn back to Nove soon in the future and seriously consider his efforts to construct a less ambitious but, in the interim, probably more feasible socialist program for our market-worshipping times.
Whatever the flaws of Nove's "market socialism" may be(and,as writers both right and left point out, there are many) it may be the best we can realistically hope for in times like those we are currently living in. For that reason alone, this work makes a good departure point for discussion among those who are still interested in the potential of the unfinished and much-disgraced, socialist project.